LA Times Admits: Hillary Polling 'Leads' Meant to Discourage Trump Supporters; Take Them With a Grain of Salt

This race won't be over until November 8, no matter what you might read or hear.

In a refreshing moment of truth, TheLA Times' John Healey, who openly opposes Trump, penned an OpEd explaining why all of the current polls (including his own LA Times/Daybreak Poll) should be "taken with a grain of salt."

What's more, Healey admits that media are over-hyping Hillary Clinton's alleged polling leads -- even when they may fall within the polls' margin of error -- and that it's all meant to discourage Trump supporters.

"To read some coverage of the presidential race, the election is already in the late Chick Hearn’s refrigerator, with the lights out, the butter getting hard and the Jell-O jiggling," Healey writes:

I’m as attuned to the polling trends as the next political junkie. But having watched how the contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton has gyrated since July, and knowing how fragile some of the support for each candidate is, I’m wide open to the possibility of a game-changing late October or even an early November surprise.

After disclosing that the Times editorial board opposes Trump, Healey writes:

But whether he wins isn’t my call. It’s yours (assuming you’re a voter). And Trump is right when he argues that media reports about Clinton’s lead in the polls could discourage some of his supporters from casting ballots.

The Times writer also points out a glaring example of bias from Politico's Nolan McCaskill, excerpted below:

“Trump accused the media of suppressing the vote by reporting that he is losing, although he is currently on track for a landslide loss given his standing in most national and battleground state polls. ...

“Even so, he vowed to win Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. But while he leads in Iowa and narrowly edges out Clinton in Ohio, he trails by an average of 3.1 percentage points in Florida, 5.7 points in Pennsylvania and 2 points in North Carolina.”

"I see what you’re doing there, Nolan!" Healey chides before asking just "how many of those results were within the polls’ margins of error?"

Healey also rightly adds that a Bloomberg poll this week showed Trump leading Florida by 2 points, prompting him to ask McCaskill:

Is that a sign of momentum shifting in response to Trump’s heavy campaigning in the state, or just an aberration?

In summation, though he may be anti-Trump, Healey acknowledges that polls "should be taken with a large grain of salt" because, "at the very least, the winner won’t be decided before Nov. 8, no matter what you might read or hear otherwise."